Edith has been busy getting us set up here in Colorado and corresponding to our friends and supporters.

Our family hosted a projectSALT taco salad and game night. We had over twenty show up and no one broke the kitchen table playing spoons! This is a true blessing because it got intense.

We do have a number of prayer needs including:

Darian will be returning to Maryland in February to attend his last meeting with the Presbytery of the East. He will also be using this time to hopefully meet with different churches, pastors, missions boards and individuals about supporting our mission here in Greeley. While we received a number of generous and large gifts which will get us through March, we have no reoccurring support to sustain our ministry as of yet. Please pray God will open hearts and doors for what he hopes to share. If you know a church that would like to have Darian share about projectSALT or speak, please get in touch with us. Also, please pray Darian will enjoy visiting all our friends at Dundalk Presbyterian and the Presbytery of the East.

Please pray that Darian completes his first book “Micah’s Touch” and that God will guide his words and be glorified.

Please pray that projectSALT will be able to complete the process of setting up a charitable account with Fidelity so that those wishing to support us can do so through transferring stocks if they wish.

Pray for us as we prepare to teach the first projectSALT House Church regular study. Darian is busy preparing a “Foundations” study that our core team and then our entire church will be completing. So far he has begun work on the first two studies, Scripture and Jesus.

Pray we have the funds to continue our insurance coverage after March.

Pray for a location and/or land to build Micah House and for Darian and Edith as they begin to visit numerous programs for ideas and resources.

Pray that we are able to build healthy relationships. We are further away from our family in Georgia than we have ever been and miss both them and our church family in Baltimore terribly.

Pray for us to grow in our relationships with Christ, to establish new habits which brining us closer to Him each day so that we can better reflect Him to the community we have been called to reach.

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2:1-7

Though he (Jesus) was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Phil 2:6-8

Dear Lord Jesus,

It’s Christmas, the day on our calendar when we celebrate the miracle and mercy of your birth. You were born. You actually came from eternity into time and space. You lived in our place and died in our place. You were raised for our justification and will return for our glorification. Hallelujah, the gospel is true! No spiritual myth, nice story or redemptive allegory could save us. Hallelujah, grace is true.

I lift my heart and hand to you today, for you were “Born that man no more may die; born to raise the sons of earth; born to give them second birth”. For the certainty of your birth, I worship you. For the assurance of rebirth, I adore you.

I also praise you for the quietness of your birth. Any other king would’ve come with great fanfare, a royal entourage and muscle-flexing pride. But you came into our world in utter weakness and with profound humility. “No room in the inn” wasn’t an insult to you. It was your choice, your plan, the way of the gospel. Empower me with your humility.

For you never considered your equality with God something to be held on to or selfishly hoarded. Rather, you made yourself “nothing,” taking the very nature of a human servant. And in your obedience, you took our judgment and died our death—the “Servant of the Lord” dying for rebels from God. Astonishing… this is equally the most humbling and liberating news ever. Enable me to live a selfless life of service.

“Mild he lays his glory by, veiled in flesh, the Godhead see… Hail, the incarnate Deity, pleased, as man, with men to dwell—Jesus, our Emmanuel! Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!” Lead me towards reconciliation that brings glory to you alone.

Jesus, I so look forward to the Day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that you are Lord, to the glory of God the Father. It’s going to be a loud and large day. But today, this Christmas, I bow before you with quiet wonder, humble adoration and unsurpassed peace. Hallelujah, the gospel is true. Hallelujah, grace is true.

Wow! Have we been busy since arriving in Greeley! In addition to getting the house in order, we have been busy getting Micah enrolled in school. He will be attending Greeley West High School through May, then our youngest will be graduating! This week he has been going half days to get him used to the new environment. Then, after Christmas break, he will begin full time. We have been pleasantly surprised at how well he has adjusted to the new environment. Please remember him in your prayers as he continues to deal with changes in routine and his new school.

Darian has met a number of times with Aaron Havens discussing Scripture, doctrine and the full glory of God. He has met with the Weld County’s Special Education Directors, Laura Casas and Joe Hendrickson to preliminarily discussMicah House. They were very excited about the possibility of filling this much needed hole in services for Greeley. Darian also had lunch with area pastors and presented both the vision for Micah House as well as Juniper Tree Ministries and received a very positive reception. After Christmas he will be having lunch with the pastor of Greeley’s largest church who has expressed an interest in partnering withprojectSALTonMicah House. Darian will also be meeting with the Doug Brown and Greg Ehlert, Pastor and Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Greeley.

Jonathan and Matthew got here Saturday; Jonathan from Oakland and Matthew from Baltimore. Micah was so excited to pick them up at the airport that he brought his shoes to us all day after we told him that we would be going to pick up the boys. Both the boys really like our new home and are excited about the future of and the work of God through projectSALT.

We Made It! Praise God! He provided just what we needed to get here and get things set up. Look what greeted us…. That is our new home covered in snow. We were so tired. My back was out and every joint in my body hurt from all the packing, loading and driving over the last week. We did not know how we were going to get things unloaded. What a blessing to have been met by Aaron and told he had 13 people from projectSALT on the way! What had taken us three days to load was done in three hours. Praise God! The ladies even went the extra measure to set up our bedroom. Man what a great night sleeping in our own bed after such a long trip. I am so proud of Edith. She stayed so positive and drove her truck and trailer like a champ. Micah was great! We cannot wait to see what God has for us in the days and years to come.

Day three as we head into Columbia, MO for the night. It amazes me that God sends these little confirmations as we travel. Today, right as we crossed the Mississippi River Chris Tomlin’s “I Will Follow” started playing and I smiled.